I recently attended the State of Black Chicago organized by our City Clerk: Dorothy Brown. Black Chicago has several crises including a dwindling population and a community ravaged by youth violence. There were committees that were organized around several areas including: [list the nine areas].
Throughout the day, representatives from each of the respective areas were asked to identify the major problems or challenges within their areas, but they were also asked to identify solutions that the group came up with. How many times do we have problems in our communities, our families or our lives and we focus most of our energy on the problem… Those problems look and sound like:
1. I don’t have enough money to pay all of my bills.
2. I have a horrible relationship with a close family member.
3. I’m unhappy with myself or with my life.
4. I hate my church and feel like I’m out of touch with God.
5. I have too much on my plate.
This list goes on and on. What I encourage you to do is ACKNOWLEDGE the problem and then spend the rest of your mental, physical and emotional energy thinking at the solution. If you don’t have enough money to pay your bills you can do one of the following, get a second job, go back to school to get certification and money that will allow you to make more money in your current position or start a side hustle.
If you have a horrible relationship with a family member, you can either decide to no longer deal with that family member or you can write that person a letter to tell them exactly how you feel. If you have too much on your plate, you can start saying no and turning over some of your responsibilities to others who have more time available.
You can’t solve a problem with more of the problem, you can only solve a problem by considering a solution. Imagine how silly it would look if fire fighters tried to fight fire with more fire. So start now, what are the biggest problems in your life and what can you do to address those problems?
